Christmas and New Years Special

Need an H1 report in a rush?

Have your H1 calculations done by us. For a short while we offer to do your residential H1 calculations for you. Prices start from $200+GST and turn-around times are usually three days or less.

Interested?

Just send me your plans (as PDF files) together with your preferred insulation type (designnavigator@gmail.com). I'll have a look at them, let you know whether I need more details and and will give you a quote.

I hope this takes a bit of the pre-Christmas pressure away and you will enjoy a relaxed and wonderful Christmas and New Years break.

Sunny regards
Albrecht

PS: In case you are wondering: We can also do H1 calculations for commercial buildings.

This website calculates compliance with insulation targets of NZBC Clause H1 Fourth edition Amendment 3 (1 January 2017) and with the insulation targets of Clause E3 Second edition Amendment 6 (1 January 2017). It calculates compliance with the New Zealand Standard NZS4218:2009, Schedule and Calculation Methods (including modifications as specified in Clause H1) and for compliance with the Building Performance Index (BPI).

For an overview of the changes please refer to the "Changes to Clause H1 - 2017" section in the panel on the right. ==>

The Calculator should be used in conjunction with the Energy Efficiency Clause H1 of the New Zealand Building Code and NZS4218:2009, which can be purchased from Standards New Zealand.

By using this website you agree to the Design Navigator terms and conditions (see link in the footer of this page).

Dear Design Navigator user

After more than 6 years of providing this tool free of charge I have decided to charge a small fee for the H1 Compliance Reports. My own circumstances have recently changed and the fee will allow me to spend more time working on the tool.

You can continue to create as many projects as you want for free. The fee will only apply once you download a completed H1 report and is currently $26.40+GST. Payment can be made via credit card or via cheque or bank transfer on invoice.

I appreciate that this will add an additional cost to your business, but hope that the quality of the tool and support that I provide will make the cost acceptable.

Please let me know if you have any questions or have suggestions to improve the Design Navigator website: designnavigator@gmail.com.

For frequent users I am able to set up discounts. Please contact me if you would like to discuss this.

Sunny regards

Albrecht

PS: Since announcing the price introduction I had many e-mails of support. Thanks very much!

Some FAQ's regarding the new fee system

You can create as many Design Navigator projects as you want free of charge. Once you have finished a project and download a completed H1 report a fee of 26.40+GST applies. Payment can be made via invoice or credit card. Please contact me if you want to have an account for monthly invoices set up. Note that it is illegal to copy any parts of the H1 compliance webpage without explicit prior permision from the author.
Click here for some FAQ's regarding the fee system

Payment Update: You can now pay for your H1 report using direct credit with the POLi online payment option. POLi is safe payment system used also by some other large companies such as The Warehouse and Air New Zealand.

Notice: The Internet Service Provider will need to shut down the server that is hosting the Design Navigator website for maintenance for about half an hour on Monday 29/10/2018 between 8:00PM and 2:00AM Tuesday. Sorry about any inconvenience this may cause.

Notice: The Design Navigator H1 Calculator is currently not available (Saturday 24 March, 7pm-12am). Sorry about any inconvenience.

The server crashed late morning on 21 March 2014. The ISP has recovered the database, however some projects created on the 20th and 21st March might be corrupted or deleted. There was another crash on 25th March that may have also corrupted some data. Sorry about this.

The Design Navigator will be turned off for several hours Tuesday night.

Currently there is a bug in the e-mail system of the Design Navigator H1 calculator. You can still create, edit and save projects, but the completed report can't be e-mailed to you. I am currently working on fixing the bug and hope to have that completed in the next few hours. Very sorry about the inconvenience!

Security update: There have been recent news about security vulnerabilities of Wifi networks across New Zealand. Like any other website the Design Navigator website is also potentially vulnerable to these attacks. Therefore avoid using the calculator via a Wifi connection. If your computer is connected to the internet via a cable you are safe.

In either case please make sure you are connected via a secure connection. This will not prevent the Wifi hacking vulnerability, but it will encrypt all communication and will make it harder for a hacker to access your data. Check the address bar in your browser. If there is a small lock shown as below your are on a secure connection.

Note that the banking site for credit card payments for the H1 reports is completely separate from the Design Navigator website. It is as secure as any "normal" online banking site, i.e. data are automatically encrypted.

Please follow the news regarding other questions about the Wifi security issue.

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Forgot your password? Enter your user name above and click this button. A new password will be generated and e-mailed to the e-mail address in your profile.

Click here to use the H1 calculator without saving and printing of projects.

Note: I am regularly adding further improvements to this calculator. I am always trying to conserve any previously saved projects but suggest that you keep printed copies of the compliance reports so that you can reproduce the results should the database records be damanged.

Do you know...?

Changes to Clause H1 - 2017

How to create H1 reports for additions and alterations

How to enter pod insulation R-values for concrete floors

Whether the DesNav Calculator can be used for commercial buildings

NZS4218:2004 or NZS4218:2009

Training Videos

Introduction tutorial:

Tracing scanned floor plans:

Changes in H1 Fourth edition Amendment 3 (1 January 2017)

On 1st of January 2017 Clause H1 Fourth edition Amendment 3 came into force. It calls up the 2009 version of NZS4218 as Acceptable Solution for Clause H1. NZS4218:2004 including the Clause H1 replacement tables remained an Acceptable Solution until 30 May 2017.

From 1 June 2017 only NZS4218:2009 is the Acceptable Solution for Clause H1.

The Acceptable Solution does explicitly exclude the use of foil insulation. (H1/AS1 1.0.2)

The maximum permitted area of skylights for using the NZS4218:2009 Schedule Method has been increased from 1.2m² to 1.5m² or 1.5% of the roof area, whichever is the larger. (NZS4218:2009 4.1.1(d))

Up to 3m² of glazing with an R-value of less than R-0.26 ("decorative glazing and louvers") is permitted in the NZS4218:2009 Schedule Method. (NZS4218:2009 4.1.1(c))

The maximum of 50% glazing for using the NZS4218:2009 Calculation Method has been retained. NZS4218:2009 refers to a limit of 40% (4.2.1), however, this is modified in H1/AS1 2.1.6 to 50%. (H1/AS1 2.1.6)

When using the NZS4218:2009 Calculation Method to trade off R-values the lowest permitted R-value for walls, floors and roofs has been reduced from 60% to 50% of the corresponding Schedule Method R-values (the old "60% rule" is now a "50% rule"). There are no mimimum R-values for glazing. (NZS4218:2009 4.2.8)

In the NZS4218:2009 Calculation Method the reference building glazing R-values for glazing in excess of 30% of the wall area have been increased. (NZS4218:2009 Tables 5, 6 and 7)

The reference building in the NZS4218:2009 Calculation Method does not have any skylights. The roof area of the reference building consist of the sum of roof and skylight areas of the proposed building. (NZS4218:2009 Tables 5, 6 and 7)

Up to 6m² of opaque door can be ignored in the heatloss calculation of the NZS4218:2009 Calculation Method. (NZS4218:2009 4.2.7 and H1/AS1 2.1.7) (Note that for simplicity reasons this feature has not been implemented in the DesNav calculator. Most doors in modern houses consist largely of glazing, which has to be included in the window area anyway.)

Only recessed downlights that can be safely abutted to (CA rated) or covered with insulation (IC rated) can be used. (H1/AS1 2.1.4)

Additions and Alterations

The easiest way to show compliance for additions and alterations is to show compliance for the whole building rather than only for the changed parts. That means you enter all external floors, walls, roofs and windows whether they are existing or new.

The trick is that for all existing unchanged parts you can assume that they comply with the Schedule Method R-value targets (Table 2 in NZS4218:2009), irrespective of whether they in reality do. So you would for example enter for all existing windows an R-value of R-0.26, even if they are single glazed.

If the R-values of the existing parts are known and higher than the Schedule Method R-values then you can even use these R-values.

Only for the new and changed parts of the building you use the actually proposed R-values for these elements.

Any walls or other elements that used to be external, but are now internal elements will be ignored as usual.

This method follows the approach in NZS4218:2009 Appendix D3.

There is also a message trail on the issue on the DesNav message board.

The BRANZ article is based on thermal computer simulations and found that "...for a traditional slab-on-ground floor without insulation ... the thermal resistances of the (pod insulated) floors are similar for a building with 100 mm deep walls." For 250mm deep walls the simulations found an R-value increase of 20% compared to an uninsulated slab.

The Firth Design Guide on the other hand refers to NZS4214:2006 and lists quite significant R-value increases due to the RibRaft system. It should be noted that the referenced Standard does not specifically cover pod insulation systems and only deals with total slab insulation and slab edge insulation.

Because of these conflicting resources I recommend to either ignore any benefits of the pod insulation systems in the DesNav calculations and treat the slab as uninsulated or to use a "custom R-value" and enter the BRANZ or Firth R-values manually and add a corresponding reference to the consent application.

Can the DesNav Calculator be used for commercial buildings?

The short answer: Yes

The long answer:

The first question is always whether the building has to comply with the thermal targets of Clause H1 at all. The screen shot below shows the relevant section in Clause H1.

If the building does not fall into one of these groups, i.e. if it is not exempt then you have to comply with Clause H1. In that case the permitted compliance method depends on the building size and type.

Smaller than 300m² or housing of any size: The NZS4218 Schedule and Calculation Methods are the Acceptable Solutions for all buildings smaller than 300m² and for all housing irrespective of size. That means that for example also an apartment building must comply with NZS4218. It also means that a small office which is smaller than 300m² must comply with NZS4218.

Non-housing larger than 300m²: If the building is larger than 300m² and it is not housing you have two options: Show compliance with NZS4218 (Schedule or Calculation Method) or show compliance with NZS4243 (Schedule or Calculation Method). Both of these standards are Acceptable Solutions. The reason why most designers will show compliance with NZS4243 instead of NZS4218 is that the R-value targets in NZS4243 are a lot lower than the targets in NZS4218.

The DesNav program tests compliance with NZS4218 Schedule and Calculation Methods.

So that means that you can use the DesNav calculator to show compliance with Clause H1 also for a non-housing building larger than 300m². If the building fails to comply you can either increase the insulation levels to meet NZS4218 (using the DesNav calculator) or instead you check whether it complies with NZS4243 (which is not part of the DesNav calculator).

Note that for some large non-residential buildings you also need to show that the lighting power density complies with Clause H1. Usually your lighting consultant will be able to do these calculations for you.

PS: I am also providing professional services to do NZS4243 H1 calculations. If you are interested you can send me the building plans to designnavigator@gmail.com and I can give you a quote.

NZS4218:2004 or NZS4218:2009?

Since 1 June 2017 the NZS4218:2009 (Schedule and Calculation Method) is the Acceptable Solution for Clause H1 of the Building Code. The previous standard (NZS4218:2004) is no more called up in Clause H1 as an Acceptable Solution.

This version of the Design Navigator H1 calculator uses NZS4218:2009, including ammendments from Clause H1 Fourth edition Amendment 3 from January 2017.

Payment FAQs

If I make changes to a paid project do I have to pay again?

No. Once you have paid for a report you can make as many changes to the project and download a new copy of the report free of charge.

Just be aware that if you create a copy of the project you would have to pay again for the report of the copied project.

Do I also have to pay for old projects?

No. Reports for projects that were created before the 19th of February 2015 remain free of charge.

How does the payment system work?

The payment system is set up so that when you open the report page you have two choices, either pay by credit card or be invoiced.

If you select credit card it redirects to a separate ASB website where you do all the credit card stuff. Once that is done it returns to the DesNav page and e-mails you the report and a receipt.

If you choose the invoice option the DesNav website will send you the H1 report and together with it an invoice.

There is also a monthly invoicing system available that collates all invoices during each month. Please let me know if you would like to have an account set up for this.